Omar open to alliance if Cong agrees seat sharing offer

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Vice President of the National Conference (NC) Omar Abdullah said on Sunday that his party was open to a pre-poll alliance with the Congress if the latter agreed to NC's seat sharing formula for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a party function in Anantnag district, Abdullah said: "We have received an offer from the Congress, but we are very clear about taking forward any alliance plan only if our candidates are to contest all the Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir."

J&K has six Lok Sabha seats, three in the Valley, two in the Jammu division and one in the Ladakh division.

Abdullah also criticised the Central government for not holding the state Assembly elections simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

"It amounts to denying the people of the state their democratic right to form an elected government," he said.

Commenting on the launch of a new political party by former IAS officer Shah Faesal, Omar said it remains to be seen whether the new party would have something new to offer to the people.

He said it was pointless to expect any forward movement towards the resolution of the Kashmir problem till the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections were over.

Commenting on the ban and the subsequent crackdown on the cadres of the Jamaat-e-Islami in the state, Abdullah said that he never felt the need to ban the Jamaat when he was the Chief Minister of J&K.

--IANS

sq/arm/bc